This invention relates to a natural sweetening compound, the recovery thereof from Stevia rebaudiana plant material, and the use thereof as a sweetener for foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals.
In view of the questionable safety of the artificial sweeteners, such as the cyclamates and saccharin, it has become more desirable to provide natural sweeteners, particularly, which may serve to replace sucrose. Various natural sweeteners have disadvantages in their degree of sweetness, sugar-toxin, fermentation, souring, and browning by Meillard reaction with amino acids. The sweetener, glycyrrhizin, found in the licorice plant, has 250 times the sweetness of sucrose, but it has an unpleasant taste and slow latent sweetness.
Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.) Hemsl. (Compositae), herein referred to as Stevia rebaudiana, is a plant native to Paraguay, and the plant has long been used as a sweetening agent. The sweetening compound, stevioside, has been recovered from the plant, and it has 300 times the sweetness of sucrose. Stevioside has the disadvantage that it is sparingly soluble in water, so that it is difficult to dissolve in foods. Also, it has slow latent sweetness, strong bitterness, and an unpleasant after-taste.